I have despised graphic novels for a while. As an author and avid reader, I would see the graphic novel version of a classic at the library and sneer. My oldest had a friend in middle school who always got the newest “My Hero Academia” as soon as it came out and then shared it through their friend group like wildfire. (Don’t come for me in the comments; I know MHA is Manga, but in my house, many pictures plus words equaled “ick.”) My kids, now 11 and 16 read plenty of traditional chapter books, but graphic novels and manga are what they get excited about.

I read “Bloom” a few years ago when my oldest read it. It was great storytelling, but I wasn’t won over by the genre. Recently, I was at the library in the teen section and saw the graphic novel version of the novel “Speak.” I read that book a long time ago for the Barnes and Noble book club. Strangers would read the book and show up on a given night to discuss it. The night we discussed “Speak,” as women ages 20-60 gathered, a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 joined our group. She timidly joined the conversation and started asking questions. Everyone got quiet and focused on her, knowing something important was happening. You see this book is about the sexual assault of a high school freshman, and the girl in our midst seemed to relate to the material. Her Dad showed up, confused about what she was doing talking to strangers. She made her excuses and left. It was chilling. Seeing the graphic novel on the library shelf, I thought of how many more young people the book would reach in that format and how they could feel seen and know they weren’t alone.

My resistance towards these picture books started to crack, and I picked up “Piece by Piece – The Story of Nisran’s Hijab.” It was a 45-minute read and it knocked my socks off. I think this one cracked the code for me. So many things were said in this book without words getting in the way. Yeah, I said it. Words getting in the way. It sucked me in and said things with powerful pictures that would have been so much harder to describe with words alone.

In the time we live in, where we often opt out of things that make us uncomfortable, this book explained an experience I will never know. It immersed me in the traumatic attack on the main character and deepened my understanding of how people could come through such an event. Sitting with my thoughts after I read this book I recalled when “Maus” was published when I was in college. It was a revelation and swept through my campus. I read it and was knocked out. I guess this wasn’t a new thing, just something I had gotten away from.

I confess I now partake of graphic novels regularly. I still read and write traditional novels, but I add to that experience with these full-flavored explosions of storytelling that stir my thoughts and take me to places in a way books haven’t in decades. And, if my kids’ nightstands are full of graphic novels and chapter books, so be it. I’m happy they are reading, and once again they have led me to a new and more full experience of living.